Hello Princesses!
Just a few brief announcements about upcoming events:
· No In-Person Class on Tuesday, November 20th (to prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday).
· Special ZOOM Online Session- Tuesday, November 13th from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
We will be viewing and discussing Esther 4:11-17. Anyone interested in joining the session, see the login information below. NOTE: you will need to download the ZOOM app to access our online class.
Topic: GO! Session 8 (Esther - Part 2)
Time: November 13, 2018
6:30 - 8:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/555427646
Meeting ID: 555 427 646
Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
In the classic verse in Esther 4:13-14, who knows, perhaps as Christian princesses and princes, we have come to our various positions for such a time as this. Just maybe God wants to use us to liberate. Perhaps God has called you and me to come out of our comfort pod and to be the salt and light of this world today, for this time.
(K. Allison, GO!, October 2018)
The year 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act. Specifically, this past April 2018 the Civil Rights Act, which contained the Fair Housing Act, was passed into law (April 1968). This landmark legislation was enacted to protect both buyers and renters from discrimination when seeking a place to live.
On Tuesday, October 30, 2018, I had an opportunity to attend a Fair Housing Luncheon where Dr. Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King was the keynote speaker. Later in the same week, I met Geoffrey Canada, President of the Harlem Children's Zone in Harlem, New York, and Promise Academy Boards. Why mention these perchance meetings? What’s the intersection or interconnection with our bible study? With Esther?
Both echoed themes of our time and those symbolizing the internal struggle in the time of Esther. That we as a country, a people are at a decision point. Take a look below at two main themes from both presenters followed by subthemes:
“The Ethical Dilemma.”
(Esther faced an ethical dilemma, she had a choice after learning the fate of her Jewish family in Persia and we do so as well each day.)
"Can you make the mental shift?"
"Change the patterns, realities, and relationships."
“Change the equation; change the behavior.”
"We Are All Part of a Human Race and Family."
(Esther faced her fear and took the courage she was offered to decide to go before King Xerxes. In what becomes perhaps the second and most powerful but overlooked quote in the Book of Esther, she relays to Mordecai, “if I perish, I perish”.)
"Struggle is a neverending process."
“We all have to do what we can do.”
“It’s going to cost us something.”
"All of us have to figure out how to save one."
"The answer is in your hands."
The battles of the past were ones that were fought and won, but don’t be fooled, the battle is still underway. Ephesians 6:12, reminds us that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”.
15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” Esther 4:15-16
Next week, a look at our Core...Courage.
Oh, princesses of faith...remember
Prayer “empowers and ‘charges up’ every other piece so they can be used effectively against the enemy. Without prayer… your armor, cannot, will not, be infused with the power that only God’s-Spirit can give."
Closing Thoughts-
Know that through the Holy Spirit you can:
· do things you couldn't;
· feel things you didn't; and
· know things you wouldn't.
GO! PLAYLIST...For your praise and worship:
GO! 11/12/18- New feature, contains a playlist of songs and Books of the Bible (from Bible Project) for your praise and worship time.
Housekeeping:
· Please tell a friend. There's still time to join in!
· See you at GO! on Tuesday, December 4, 2018, Stark Library - Innovation Center - 6:00 pm- 8:00 pm
· THIS WEEK Fall/Winter GO! Session 8 ~ Esther, It's Hard Being A Women
Remember, each day is an opportunity for us to...
Lead, Serve and GO!